The repair and service of electromechanical equipment often entails the replacement of a capacitor having a specific capacitance value. In view of the diversity of brands and product lines of electromechanical equipment, even within a particular industry such as HVAC, it is difficult for a service technician to stock a sufficiently broad range of capacitors to meet all replacement needs. Accordingly, it has been found to be useful to employ a single capacitor assembly that can be configured to provide a variety of capacitance values.
Industrial power factor correction capacitors having multiple capacitor units are known. Each of the units may contain multiple capacitors elements and a pressure interrupter to disconnect the flow of current should a failure occur. Power factor correction capacitors may be used with a 3-phase power supply to correct for the inductive load created by electric equipment.
Ward—U.S. Pat. No. 7,365,959 B1 discloses an assembly having multiple capacitor sectors or elements, which can be configured to achieve the desired capacitance by turning a dial switch mechanism, which is mounted on the cover.
Stockman—U.S. Pat. No. 8,531,815 B2 discloses a capacitor with multiple elements that can be connected to provide a variety of capacitance values by connecting terminals on the cover of the capacitor with jumper wires. A barrier cup assembly with fins extending between adjacent terminals on the cover is provided to prevent arcing. In one embodiment, four wound capacitor elements are oriented vertically and two wound capacitor elements are oriented horizontally in the head room above the vertically oriented capacitors. All of the capacitor elements are arranged within a single case, with a single pressure interrupter.
Despite the prior art developments in the field, there remains a need for a configurable, capacitor assembly that is easy to manufacture, employs multiple capacitor elements, conforms to the space limitations for replacement capacitors, and is readily configurable in the field, and meets all applicable safety requirements and UL test standards. Accordingly, a capacitor assembly is provided that meets the foregoing needs and objectives.